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Chiquititas (Brazil)
Chiquititas, also known as Chiquititas Brasil is the Brazilian version of the Argentine telenovela Chiquititas. Produced and aired from 1997 to 2001 by SBT, in association with Telefe, the show starred Brazilian actresses Flávia Monteiro as Carolina "Carol" Correia, Fernanda Souza as Mili, and Débora Falabella, as Estrela, being the last two's careers debut. Based on the original version of same name created by Cris Morena, the series tells the story of a group of orphans living in a manor, known as Raio de Luz, struggling and being guided by a young woman, Carol, that assumes a maternal figure for them. Their experiences such as discovering first love, deceptions, loneliness and friendship, as well as adventures in fantasy, are depicted throughout the series. The narrative is followed by musical themes and videoclips. The Brazilian version ran for five seasons until SBT's contract with Telefe ended in 2001. In September 19, 2012, SBT announced that a new version of Chiquititas is in the works for the year of 2013, following the huge success of the remake of another series for children produced by this channel, the 2012 version of Carrusel. Unlike the previous one, this new Chiquititas production will be completely made in Brazil. Story line Chiquititas Brasil follows the same steps of its original version, with mild alterations between both shows. 'Season One' Soon after Gabriela had a child, her father José Ricardo Almeida Campos kidnapped his granddaughter because, as a very conservative man, he could not accept the idea that his daughter became involved with an employee. As his granddaughter Mili needs a place to live, he creates an orphanage named "Raio de Luz" ("Light Gleam", originally "Rincón de Luz", which means "Corner of Light"). Mili grew up in this Manor alongside other girls that later arrived. Her fellows are Bia, Ana, sisters Tati and Vivi, and Cris. As the years passed, the girls became a family. They are supervisioned by Ernestina, the rigorous and funny janitor of the orphanage, and Chico, the adorable Chef very beloved by the girls. Emilia is the director of the orphanage until Carmem, an ambitious woman who's also sister of José Ricardo, takes her off this position. Soon, a new girl known as Pata is introduced. She initially does not get along with the other girls, but later is well accepted and becomes their friend, and particularly Mili's best friend. In this orphanage full of hopes and dreams, each of the chiquititas, guided by Mili, will live thousands of adventures full of love, friendship and fun. Pata later meets her half-brother, nicknamed Mosca. Initially considered a "delinquent" by Carmem, he then becomes the first male infant upheld by the place, awakening Cris and Vivi's feelings. Ernestina becomes tired of being pranked by the girls and is replaced by Matilde, her stricter (and darker) identical twin sister that won't tolerate their banters, as Carmem, the orphanage director, greedily manages to own the Manor where Raio de Luz is localized to herself. The girls' lives will be touched and changed by Carolina, or Carol, a young woman that works in one of the Almeida's factories and studies for social working. Carol lives with her friend Clarita and her somewhat rascal brother Beto. They take care of Dani, a girl that recently lost her mother. In the factory, Carol meets Junior, Ricardo's oldest son, an economist that lived in London and is back to São Paulo due to work. They'll fall in love with each other but José Ricardo, snobbish, will do anything to keep them apart. His daughter, Gabriela, became mentally affected since she believes she had a stillbirth child, actually a lie her father told her right after Mili was born. Her serious condition is softened by Mili herself, both unaware of their blood ties. 'Season Two' After Ricardo's tragic death, his sister Carmem is chosen to be in charge of his fortune. She manages to keep the secret Ricardo most wanted to protect: Mili's true origins. Meanwhile, is a new beginning in Carol's life, since she was named the orphanage director by Ricardo himself, right before he died in a car crash in the previous season. Junior left São Paulo once again, this time with Gabriela, seeking psychological treatment for her. Due to the distance, Carol brokes up with him as she meets a new man in her life, doctor Fernando Brausen. Brausen is Dani's physio after she suffered an accident in the manor and became seriously paralysed. Carol also meets a girl abandoned in the streets, named Maria, who Carol uphelds as her own daughter. Since the remaining girls start to interact with the newcomer boys, Mili discovers her first love when she meets Júlio. Maria later finds out that her favourite doll Laurinha is actually able to be alive itself. Maria uncovers a mysterious Phanton of the Opera-like figure living inside the hidden areas of the manor, a man named Miguel. He's a friend of Fernando from the past, who Fernando thought was dead after an airplane crash. The man actually survived the accident, which had left a scar on his face. Also, Miguel believes that one of the resident chiquititas is his lost daughter, she possibly being Bia, Cris, or Mili. He helps Maria in the search for her mother, whom she lived with in the streets before being took off by Carol and Clarita. Maria's background is later revealed by her mother, Esther, to Carol. Esther explains that, since she was infertile, her second husband became abusive and deposited his hatred onto the little girl. Maria was then forced to be abandoned by her mother. The repentant woman would later vainly get back to look for her daughter. Esther is once again reunited with Maria, saying goodbye to the little girl, as she dies due to her broken death. Formerly alcoholic, the father of Vivi and Tati comes back to their lives as he's rehabilitated. Since Vivi would not come back, she says goodbye to the Manor and particularly to Mosca, who was her first love. Ana is adopted by a business executive and takes her best friend Bia with her. As some of the original Chiquititas finally find their parents and leave the manor, new children are later welcomed, increasing the family inside Raio de Luz. 'Season Three - At the corner' Carmem finally manages to close the orphanage. However, Carol and the kids receive the help of a mysterious man named Pedro Vega who donates his old mansion to them. The huge, beautiful manor is located at the corner of the Harmony Alley. In its initially creepy insides, they'll meet Helena, the house's governess, a baleful and mean-spirited woman who keeps her granddaughter Lúcia locked in a windowless bedroom, in order to "protect" her. In the neighbourhood, the kids make new friends. Their life starts to change since some of them are leaving their childhood behind and are starting to grow, as they experiment their first love and will realize the power of friendship. One of the orphans, mischievous boy Neco, soon discovers Lúcia and became her friend for life, showing her the world and gradually making her part of their family, against Elena's will. Mosca (the first male orphan welcomed by the orphanage) soon discovers he has a serious bone disease, and faces this particular obstacle in this season. The relationship between Carol and Fernando will be torn apart thanks to Andréa, Fernando's former fiancée, and their son Diego. An unscrupulous man named Felipe Mendes Ayala demonstrates interest to orphan Maria, to whom Carolina became maternally attached, and they will fight in court for her custody. Tati cames back to the Manor due to her non-adaptation to her family's conditions, also because she overly missed her friends. She experiments first love feelings with Tatu, one of the boys of the Harmony Alley, but their relationship does not work out. Fran and Samuca start being more than friends, but Marian and Bel interfere in their relationship. Marian is a troublesomed orphan; Bel resides in the Harmony Alley and is the best friend of Lila and Janu, a girl who is uncertain between Mosca and André. Lila also develops her feelings for Mosca, despite the disapproval of her mother. Meanwhile, as Gabriela is back and now sane, she and Mili reapproximate, and they become closer each day with Carmem following them closely, trying to keep them from knowing the secret and their true ties. She joins forces to Marian, an orphan with bad intentions who's jealous of Mili, doing everything to hinder her life. Due to Marian's deeds, Mili ends up blind after an accident, and her place as Gabriela's real daughter and Luca's girlfriend is taken by Marian. But in the end, the truth will finally emerge. The kids will also explore secrets kept in the Manor involving mysteries, magic, fantasy, and a hidden treasure, also wanted by Carmem. As in the original version, during this season the first Raio de Luz orphanage is closed and re-opened on a new, even more picturesque house. Also, some of the more heavy and melodramatic storylines were dropped. The show's most popular character Mili, the protagonist played by Fernanda Souza, says goodbye and goes to a new life with her mother. 'Season Four' After legal and personal fights with each other, Carolina and Felipe then fall in love. They dispute custody of Maria, the smallest among the orphans, as Felipe, under the new identity of Manoel, gets close to them and to the children in the Manor. Among new orphans introduced are Simão and Hannelore, newcomers from a reformatory after a presumed behavioral change. But this two will be very unpopular to the veterans due to their actions, also due to their affiliation to Elena. Mosca develops a stronger relationship with Lila, the girl next door, and Fran discovers her origins as an heiress of a huge fortune before she quits it due to her relatives' ambition. Later, she and her pals in the Manor reluctantly say goodbye to her love: the smart, adorable and former orphan Samuca, who was reunited with his father and is going to live with him. After her mother goes to psychological aid and his father is arrested for domestical violence, Bel moves to the Manor. During an tour, Tati gets lost in the forest, where she meets a fearless boy named Yago. She's rescued by Mosca and Manoel, and takes Yago with her to the manor. A young woman, Estrela, arrives in the house looking for work. In the fourth season's final episodes, some of the children are transferred to another institution in Rio de Janeiro, and Carolina makes a travel to promote the orphanage's activities, leaving the kids under the care of Alfredo the Chef and Estrela. The Book of Life is given by her to them, and the children says to Carol that she's "their shine", and that they'll be there waiting for her. Tati leaves the show after four seasons as she is adopted with Yago. Helena, the main antagonist of this season, is a fugitive from the police after her criminal acts, and as the Manor became her property, it is sold on auction. The council intends to send the children to different places, and since the group of orphans don't want to be torn apart, Estrela then remembers of her grandfather's house in a small town near to São Paulo. Mosca says emotionally says goodbye to Lila, as they orphans are forced to leave the Manor. They need to move faster, as tractors approach to knock their house down. 'Season Five - Moving on' The group spent some time homeless, as Bruna, the youngest of the chiquititas, faithfully keeps the Book of Life gifted by Carol. Alfredo, Estrela and the remaining orphans then arrive in her grandfather's farm in São Dionísio, an inland small town. The orphans are welcomed in the farm, and everything seems fine until Estrela notices her grandpa is gone. Also, the farm is about to be demolished as it is located in an area occupied by a logging company. The orphans need to hide, as they are not supposed to be under such condition. Near the farm is a rich mansion that also belongs to Estrela's family. Its owner is a young businessman named Rian, son of Tonico and the promoter of the deforestation project that threats the graner. He lives with his only child, Lucas, and nephews Inês, Álvaro and Rodrigo. Inácia "Naná" is the rigorous housekeeper of Rian's family. Rian then arrives from the United States, and later, his girlfriend Cora and her little daughter Talita also come to the mansion. Cora is an ambitious woman with interest in Rian's fortune. She also brings Hannelore, a troublesomed orphan that lived in the Raio de Luz manor and was adopted by Cora soon after being transferred to a shelter in Rio de Janeiro. Hannelore then becomes Cora's accomplice in causing trouble to the orphans. Fran meets Rodrigo, a charming but crafty boy, and Yuri, a more loveable orphan and the first welcomed in this new Raio de Luz. Uncertain about her feelings, she finds herself divided between the two boys. Mosca starts working as a gardener in the mansion, and gets closer to Inês, a pampered and altered girl. The children become desolated after assuming that Carol supposedly died in an airplane crash, but she later reappears from the skies, falling right on Rian and Cora's wedding cake with her balloon (just as Ana did in the original version). After her return, Carol settles in the granary, alongside Estrela, her adorable grandfather Tonico and, once again, reunited with the chiquititas. The granary then becomes their newest home, Raio de Luz, as well as a new orphanage. Carol's arrival makes Cora even more enraged, as her plans to sent the orphans to a reformatory are ruined, as well as her greed over Rian's wealth. She also tries to separate Rian and Carol, who fall in love for each other. An enormous tree is located in the very centre of the granary, which is a gateway to a magical world the kids later explore, known as The Anthill. In this place they meet creatures like talking ants and find secret passages that link the granary to the mansion. In the end of Chiquititas Brasil, Carolina and Rian get married and adopt part of the orphans, and the other ones are sent to another insituition. Cora is caught in the act by the police after the help of a redeemed Hannelore. Half-brothers Mosca and Pata, who were in the show since Season One, are adopted by Amanda, an artist introduced in Season Three as Pata's supposed mother. Estrela ends up alongside Álvaro, and Fran chooses Yuri over Rodrigo, who is now Bel's boyfriend. The children say farewell to each other, as Bruna notices that the Book of Life is no longer placed upon its usual place. Sitting on the feet of the Tree, Carol and her family watch the Book of Life fly away, as Carol states that "whoever find this Book, will then find a light gleam that will brighten your life, forever and ever". 'Cancelation' The fifth season was the last to be adapted for Brazilian audiences. In 2001, SBT was airing other soap operas directed for children, such as El diario de Daniela, which were providing higher ratings than Chiquititas at that time. One of the clauses in SBT's contract with Telefe allowed SBT to produce Chiquititas in 2001 by itself, and the show could be filmed on Brazilian locations. However, Cris Morena had disagreements with Telefe and later broke relations with the Argentine net, what also have influenced on the end of Chiquititas Brasil. Production Brazilian TV show host and entrepreneur Silvio Santos, owner of SBT, originally wanted the show to be called Pequeninas, as it is the literal translation of "chiquititas" ("little girls") to Brazilian Portuguese. Actress Suzy Rêgo was initially considered to play the adult protagonist of this version, portrayed by Romina Yan in the original show, but the role eventually went to younger actress Flávia Monteiro, who took singing lessons to sing her musical themes by herself, without needing to dub them. Almost ten years later, Rêgo would get a main role in Floribella, the Brazilian version of Floricienta, also created by Cris Morena. The songs were translated and adapted to Brazilian Portuguese, and differently from the original version, most of the actors dubbed the voices of professional singers in their themes. The exceptions were Flávia Monteiro, Gésio Amadeu and Omar Calicchio, who were the chefs of the Manor in different seasons, and had their own themes, and Débora Olivieri and Magali Biff, that sang the "evil witches" themes, actually the villains of the show. The Brazilian show begun in 1997, when the Argentine version was in its third season, and it was shot in Buenos Aires, in the same Telefe studios and locations used for the original series, Buenos Aires being used as São Paulo for the story. With the exception of "Até 10" ("Up To 10") and "Sinais" ("Signs"), all the music videos were shot in Brazil, using locations such as the Museu Paulista's park, the Paulista Avenue, São Paulo's Theatro Municipal and the Latin America Memorial, among other throughout the country. Most part of the Season Five videos were shot in Fernando de Noronha. Reception Soon after its debut, the show became extremely popular spawning hundreds of merchandising and selling over 3 million CDs. Being part of the cast was a dream among many Brazilian kids and in 1999 over 15.000 people in São Paulo, 10,000 in Rio de Janeiro and 6,000 in Recife attended the auditions for the show's third season, breaking the record for the biggest casting ever (as a comparison castings for Ídolos, the Brazilian version of American Idol, are attended by 2,000 people in each state and 4,000 in São Paulo). Following the musical productions released in Argentina, the Brazilian version also had live musical presentations on its country, featuring the whole main cast, in 1998, when the show was on the third season. The musical was released in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Fortaleza and Brazilia. In 2000, when Chiquititas Brasil was on its fifth year, the videoclip "Adolescente" ("Teens") became one of the 10 most viewed on MTV Brasil. Legacy In 2007, SBT aired Chiquititas 2000 (Chiquititas Season Six) as a single story in order to continue from the point the Brazilian adaptation stopped, under the tagline "A new adventure is about to start", albeit Chiquititas 1999 was not accurately adapted for the Brazilian audience. However, the airings attracted good raitings and in the following year, Chiquititas Sin Fin was aired. The show catapulted the careers of several cast members, such as Carla Diaz, Fernanda Souza, Stephany Brito, Bruno Gagliasso and Débora Falabella. In 2011, Diaz portrayed Márcia in Rebelde Brasil, the Brazilian version for the series of same name created by Cris Morena. Remake In September 19, SBT announced on its official website that a new production of Chiquititas for 2013, in order to maintain the positive raitings obtained by Carrossel, also directed for younger viewers. Comparisons between both versions Some aspects that were modified: *''Chiquititas'' started with nine girls as the original orphans upheld in the manor. Chiquititas Brasil had seven, since Romina and Michele do not appear in this version. *While Matilde and Ernestina were different characters and originally appeared only in the first two seasons, in Chiquititas Brasil they're twin sisters played by the same actress, Magali Biff. Also, Matilde was a main antagonist until Season Four. *Season Five (known as Chiquititas 1999) was originally a new story, with new characters and setting, breaking continuity to the previous four. In the Brazilian version, the characters had only moved on from the Raio de Luz manor, as the place was being knocked down, to the farm. *The character of Miguel was created specifically for this version, being absent from the original story. However, a similar main character with similar background is introduced in the sixth season of Chiquititas. Rafael Sander is a mysterious, masked man who lives embittered inside the Rincón de Luz manor. He is later found by Juanita (similarly to Maria), and the both became friends of each other. He also believed that one of the newcoming chiquititas could be his lost son or daughter. *The fantasy introduced in Chiquititas Brasil's third season was not shown in the original version (until Season Six). Storylines such as Maria's living doll Laurinha, the hidden treasure and the Anthill were specifically created for the Brazilian audience. *One of the orphans, Pato (Camila Bordonaba) had a relationship with Barracuda (Diego García), a tough boy from neighborhood. Instead of Janjão (Nikolas Maciel), her Brazilian counterpart Fran (Eliza Veeck) had a relationship with the smart, adorable orphan Samuca (Jonatas Faro) who was Guille (Guillermo Santa Cruz) in the original version. Fran and Samuca became a popular couple with Brazilian audiences, and are still well remembered. *Facundo Brausen was an impatient man whose behaviour gradually changed after he met Belén and the manor's orphans, differently from Fernando, who demonstrated to be lovable since his first appearance. This change was made by actor Nelson Freitas himself. *The Brazilian version used to divide one Argentine character in two: Sol (Daniela Mastrichio) became Maria (Carla Diaz) and Dani (Giselle Medeiros); as Medeiros was getting older, Maria was designed to replace her; Guille became Guilherme "Guile" (Thiago Pinheiro) and Samuca, Guilherme being later adopted, leaving the show in season two. Samuca stood until the fourth season, ending up as a popular character; Saverio (Alberto de Rosa), the Chef of the Rincón de Luz manor, became Chico (Gésio Amadeu) in the first two seasons, and Alfredo (Omar Calicchio) in the last three; Intrepid orphan Corcho (Diego Mesaglio) became Rafa (Felipe Chammas), who left the story with his band, and was replaced by Zeca (Jander Veeck); Roña (Santiago Stieben) was Binho in the Brazilian version, who was later replaced by Neco (Allan Dias) after leaving the show in season two. The character of Felipe "Piojo" Fraga (Guido Kaczka), Belén's brother, was initially Beto (Jiddu Pinheiro) in Chiquititas Brasil's first season, being later replaced in season two by Cadu (Gustavo Haddad), Carolina's cousin. *In addition to Carolina (Belén), the characters that were entirely adapted to the Brazilian show, following their original stories without main alterations or replacements until the end of Season Four, were Mili, Mosca, Vivi (Vero), Bia (Cinthia), Ana (Laura), Bel (Barbarita), Marian (Caro), Simão (Patricio) and Hannelore (Martina). *Mili, the show's infant protagonist, remained for three years in the original version. However, her Brazilian counterpart played by Fernanda Souza stood in the show for a year and eight months, as the story went faster than in its original. *Juan Maza's number of children was reduced in the Brazilian version. He originally had Mariano, Ines, Javier, Luisana, Titán, Juanita and Agustín. The Brazilian character of Rian (who was younger) had only one legitimate son, Lucas (Agustín). Inês is featured in Chiquititas Brasil, but not as Rian's daughter. *The character of Estrela (Débora Falabella) was created specially to assume the one of Candela (Marcela Kloosterboer) in Season Five. Estrela was introduced in Season Four, still in the Raio de Luz manor, and in the next and last one her origins were shown and explored, as she returned to her birthplace alongside the "chiquititas". *Carolina's story followed Belén's until the end of the fourth season. Belén had adopted all the orphans with her lover Alejo, finally forming a huge and happy family; In the Brazilian Season Four, Carolina became legally mother of only one children (Maria), until the end of Season Five where she and Rian ended adopting the rest of the orphans. *The scene where Carolina arrives in Rian and Cora's wedding by falling over the cake was directly taken from Ana's arrival, as she surprises everyone in the ceremony by the same way. Category:Telenovelas